Scratches

STEVE: Scratches are known to occur in the heel. What essentially
happens is, due to a build up of debris, dirt, different types of things in
the folds back in here, in the heel, they’ll build up material and
essentially will create an infection. A lot of times Dermatophilus will do
it. Sometimes just too much moisture, sometimes heat in the foot will
create a problem here. But what they will do is they’ll get a crease in
here due to inflammation, and it will create an open sore or wound, which
is commonly known by horsemen as scratches.

Typically, the way to treat this is a very, very clean, dry environment,
take away sources of inflammation that would be irritating it, and also
keeping the actual area of the heel dry, clean, and well groomed on a
regular basis, and making sure after you give your horse a bath, like on
the race track they get baths daily especially in the summertime, that you
keep the area in the crease to the heel back here completely dry, and
sometimes some antiseptic powder, things like this, back here to stop the
proliferation of potential bacteria in this crease.

ALEX: What we found on the racetrack, a lot of the times we call them
cracked heels.

STEVE: Yeah, cracked heels.

ALEX: And a lot of times, I felt we got a lot of cracked heels because
of the concussion factor heat coming up from the foot, breaking out through
here. And once that you’ve got that to break out, then accumulate water or
some dirt, obviously it could get worse. Most importantly, keep the leg
dry. Sometimes, you have to wrap the foot up for a few days until it’s
healed up.